One of the tough jobs I had as the editor of an Eastern Cape daily newspaper was moderating the Letters to the Editor page. But the most difficult job was having to mediate between three scary factions: fanatical Zionists, fundamentalist Christians and diehard Muslims. Each letter writer believed that his was the only valid point of view. Whenever there was a flareup in the Middle East, for months afterwards the letters pages were littered with increasingly hostile outbursts – accusations of land grabs that went back centuries; condemnation of the annexing of Christian holy ground; bitter criticism of those who did not believe in the development and protection of the Jewish nation that is Israel.It was the days before social media, before the myriad platforms on which people can now vent and spew out bile and religious rage – unchecked! Back then, one of the few places that Mr and Mrs Joe Citizen could express their views and share their beliefs (especially on a small local newspape...
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